One of the most entertaining and creative blockbusters of the 21st Century

Rating: 9/10 (10 May 2020)

Kaiju emerge from underground and bring humanity on the brink of extinction. Jaegers are the machines created to combat these monsters. Jaegers are Kaiju-sized robots controlled by two pilots who share a strong bond. One Jaeger pilot loses his brother in a fight with a Jaeger and when he is down on his luck, his former commanding officer recruits him again to battle against the Kaiju in Hong Kong to prevent the apocalypse, or in this case, cancel the apocalypse.
I have a bit of an interesting history with Pacific Rim. I saw it when I first came out and I thought it was the coolest movie ever and I defended it against anyone who called a dumb popcorn flick. It is the film that got me into watching more movies. To kick off the summer, I wanted to watch this movie to see how well it holds up... there will be some spoilers ahead.
Pacific Rim is an outstanding blockbuster film that delivers everything you could ask for. The characters are wonderful and extremely likable. Raleigh Becket is a charismatic and likable lead who starts out as this energetic and cocky guy who changes into a stoic soldier after he sees his own brother get eaten by a Kaiju. It makes since why he is not the most cheerful person in the world. There are many protagonists in action films that either get on my nerves, that are the chosen one or have the same story, but Raleigh is just a normal person who suffered a tragedy in a battle with a Kaiju and was recruited by Stacker after finding himself down on his luck. He has nothing to lose after finding himself on construction. Speaking of Stacker, this character is one of the most badass in a blockbuster film. He knows how to take charge and he shows passion on not just the Jaegers, but to save the world and protect those he loves. Also, he has the coolest dialogue in the film. Finally, he his character has a great sacrifice. When I saw the movie the first few times, I was a little upset that he died, but now, I see that he got sick, and he wanted to die in a Jaeger. Mako is my favorite character in this film though. She is just an awesome character who is passionate about becoming a Jaeger pilot. At first, she seems to be beating Raleigh in training so it is confusing on why Stacker would not let her be one... until they test it out. This movie does a terrific job showing her weaknesses that she needs to overcome and why Stacker did not let her become a pilot for so long. It shows that while Mako is a badass character who can stand on her own, she is not perfect. The supporting cast is excellent as well. The scientists are comic reliefs, but they are useful for the plot and they are funnier than not. Even the character who is kind of antagonistic towards Raleigh and Mako ends up being respectable by the end of the film. Ron Perlman's character is honestly the weak point when it comes to the characters, but he is still really fun in his role. The characters are just great and even if they are not the deepest, they still get strong development and they all contribute to the plot to stop the Kaiju. The performances are terrific from everyone in this cast with the standouts being Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Charlie Day and Rinko Kikuchi.
But what about the story? It is engaging from start to finish. It is about creatures underground coming to attack the world and how humanity decided to fight back with Jaegers. It even has some themes within the story. Deep down, this is a film about how humanity being down and out having to fight back with every last bit of strength they got. It is a movie that is about teamwork because almost every character in this movie contributes to the goal of stopping the Kaiju from making humanity extinct. In that, the film is very uplifting and even inspiring. Not inspiring in that it makes you want to write movies, but in that it will help you value teamwork more than ever before. The world building is fantastic with showing how Kaiju first attacked and how Jaegers work. They also show why the bond between the two pilots as well as their emotional state is important. The tone is perfect in this film. It has a couple moments of cheesiness, but it takes itself seriously for the most part and it works. The stakes are high and it feels like an actual apocalypse, not just any sort of fun action-packed adventure. Also, there are character moments that are done beautifully without needing exposition dumps. When Mako first enters the Jaeger and her memories cloud her mind, it shows her backstory beautifully with beautiful visual storytelling. There is no dialogue, everything you need to know about Mako's fears and even her relationship with Stacker are shown beautifully in those very emotional scenes with her as a child. It scenes like these that help make the characters so much more likable and by the time the battles role around, you root for them to win. I disagree with people who say that this movie lacks substance with its story, because I think it is definitely there. The story is engaging, even when the humans are the focus.
But of course, I cannot talk about Pacific Rim without talking about the action scenes and visuals. They still look incredible! They have not aged a day and there are films that have much bigger budgets than this does that do not look nearly as good. The Jaegers look realistic and they are huge and scale. Not only that, but they feel big with their movement. They have weight. It feels about as realistic as it can get with a movie about giant robots fighting giant monsters. The Kaiju designs terrific as well as they mostly have unique designs and they are absolutely terrifying. I love that there are different categories to classify them. The CGI is perfect for both the Jaegers and the Kaiju. Honestly, I thought the Jaegers looked real when I first saw them. The set designs are grand and the scale is huge. The cinematography is breathtaking regardless of whether the focus is on the battle scenes or the training scenes. You can tell how much love Director Guillermo del Toro put into this film with his direction. He had so much passion for this film and it shows every second of the runtime. The action scenes are where this film truly shines. There is not a set piece in this film that is boring or badly shot in this film. The set pieces are pure fun and they let you see the impact that every punch makes and the destruction that comes as a result looks insane. They are beautifully shot and it is easy to tell what is happening. One of the best things about the action though is how rough the Jaegers have it. They get destroyed by the Kaiju often they do not have it easy at all. It makes it very satisfying to see how they win. The Hong Kong set piece is quite possibly my favorite action scene of all time. The scale of the giants, the neon colors with the rain, the Kaiju popping up out of nowhere from a building for a surprise attack, the Kaiju flying Gipsy Danger high in the sky, the destruction of the city and the constant back and forth between the Jaeger and the Kaiju. It is freaking brilliant and it is never dull for even a second. The climax is also under appreciated. It is visually stunning and colorful, the stakes are raised, the odds keep getting stacked for the heroes and it is an emotional ride. It is just a feast for the eyes. On a technical and production level, Pacific Rim has some of the best visuals and action scenes of any blockbuster film period. Also, the musical score by Ramin Djawadi is one of the best scores I have heard in an action movie. The main theme in this film is just amazing!
Although this film is amazing, I do have a couple of minor issues. There are a couple of lines of dialogue that are kind of cringeworthy, particularly some of the humor. Like I said, Ron Perlman's character is the only character that I am not crazy about. However, his end credit scene is hilarious. Finally, I wish we got to see a little bit more from the other Jaegers. Other than that, I have no big problems with this movie.
Every time I watch Pacific Rim, I adore it more and more. I know this review may indicate bias, but I genuinely think that this one of the best blockbuster films of the last decade. It is pure blissful fun from start to finish. I think it is a bit underrated even. I cannot recommend it enough and when you watch, make sure you watch on your biggest TV! This was one of my favorite films when I first saw it and it stays as one of my favorite films.
The sequel on the other hand...